PCN-overstaying, NtK, debt collectors, solicitor, now County Court, please advise.

[Lamborghini]

Hi All,

This is my very first post so please forgive me if it is in the incorrect location.

The driver in question had parked the car in (27/03/2018) 'Castle car park, Windsor' - A pay and display ticket had been purchased. The meeting took around 30min longer than intended so the driver went back to the car to add more time but instead found a PCN attached to the windscreen (UK Parking Ltd)

On the 29/04/2018 I received the notice to keeper letter and another notice to keeper on the 03/05/2018.

On 04/06/2018, I then received a letter from 'UCS Ultimate customer solutions' demanding payment.

Then on the 26/06/2018, I received a letter from 'CSB Solicitors' threatening court action.

I have now received (05/09/2018) a letter from the court.

Due to all the various advice I had been given, I ignored all the letters that came through hoping this would go away. It did not and now I have a letter from the court. I have attached photos of the documents received and I have made no contact with anyone as of yet.

I have attached photos of the documents if it helps.

Do I have any chance of winning this if it goes to court or should I just pay up?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Kati]

tagging ostell

[ostell]

Unfortunately it looks like the NTK is compliant with POFA. However does the NTK have the same details on there as the Notice to Driver? POFA requires that the details on the NTD are repeated on the NTK. The court claim is for failure to pay and the NTK is for Staying past the end time on the ticket so they are claiming incorrectly.

The additional charges are not permitted so that part of the defence is that as the keeper under the provisions of POFA the keeper is only liable for the amount of the original parking charge, the amount on the NTD. Not helpful but should reduce the bill if the keeper loses.

[Lamborghini]

Unfortunately it looks like the NTK is compliant with POFA. However does the NTK have the same details on there as the Notice to Driver? POFA requires that the details on the NTD are repeated on the NTK. The court claim is for failure to pay and the NTK is for Staying past the end time on the ticket so they are claiming incorrectly.

The additional charges are not permitted so that part of the defence is that as the keeper under the provisions of POFA the keeper is only liable for the amount of the original parking charge, the amount on the NTD. Not helpful but should reduce the bill if the keeper loses.

Hi Ostell,

Thank you for responding. Yes, it does seem like the NTK has the same information as on the NTD.

Do I need to contact the court or respond to them? If so, what do I need to say? Of course, if I have to pay I would much rather pay a lesser amount then what is being claimed for. Would it help if I were to make a lower offer of payment (with no admission of liability)?

Thank you for your help once again.

[ostell]

It has already gone to court and you should now acknowledge the claim using the information and password on the form. This will give you 33 dyas from the date of issue to get the defence into the court.

So both the NTD and NTK are saying staying past the end of time? and the claim is for not paying. Could make something out of that.

You can make them an offer of the £100 + solicitors fees (£50) + court fee (£25) ie £175 or go for less. If it goes to court they will probably lose overall even if they win, Make a reasonable offer but head the letter "without Prejudice".

[Lamborghini]

It has already gone to court and you should now acknowledge the claim using the information and password on the form. This will give you 33 dyas from the date of issue to get the defence into the court.

So both the NTD and NTK are saying staying past the end of time? and the claim is for not paying. Could make something out of that.

You can make them an offer of the £100 + solicitors fees (£50) + court fee (£25) ie £175 or go for less. If it goes to court they will probably lose overall even if they win, Make a reasonable offer but head the letter "without Prejudice".

Hi Ostell,

Thanks, I will prepare a draft and run it by you.

Thanks

[Lamborghini]

It has already gone to court and you should now acknowledge the claim using the information and password on the form. This will give you 33 dyas from the date of issue to get the defence into the court.

So both the NTD and NTK are saying staying past the end of time? and the claim is for not paying. Could make something out of that.

You can make them an offer of the £100 + solicitors fees (£50) + court fee (£25) ie £175 or go for less. If it goes to court they will probably lose overall even if they win, Make a reasonable offer but head the letter "without Prejudice".

Hi Ostell,

Apologies for the delay, but would you please be kind enough to have a look at an offer letter I have prepared for the creditor to accept a lower payment in order to avoid the hassle of going to court?

Thank you for your help.

[ostell]

That seems fine but I would suggest taking out the comments about how unfair the charge is. I hate saying pay it but I think in this case it's the lesser of the evils.

You have not mentioned acknowledging the claim. If you have not done this then you may find you have a judgement against you by default.

You have left it extremely late to respond. After acknowledgment you need to get a defence in by day 33 from the date of issue. You need something in place in case they don't accept your offer.

[Lamborghini]

That seems fine but I would suggest taking out the comments about how unfair the charge is. I hate saying pay it but I think in this case it's the lesser of the evils.

You have not mentioned acknowledging the claim. If you have not done this then you may find you have a judgement against you by default.

You have left it extremely late to respond. After acknowledgment you need to get a defence in by day 33 from the date of issue. You need something in place in case they don't accept your offer.

Hi Ostell,

I have acknowledged the claim on the moneyclaims website (see attached) or at least that is what I think I have done. Should I include in the letter that I have received the county court claim and that it has been acknowledged?

I will remove the unfair charge section.

In the event, they do not accept the offer would I have the option just to pay the whole lot or would I still have to go to court? What kind of defence would I be able to create?

Sorry for asking so many questions but never been to court before and this does seem quite daunting.

Thank you for your help again.

[Lamborghini]

If it's not legible, the claims history section says,

A claim was issued against you on 04/09/2018

Your acknowledgement of service was submitted on 09/09/2018 at 13:33:04

Your acknowledgement of service was received on 10/09/2018 at 01:04:20

[ostell]

You always have the option to pay the whole lot, you are going for a reduced amount. If you put in a defence then you will eventually be offered the option of mediation, if the other side agree, where you can possibly come to an agreement.

However if they do not respond to your letter and there is no defence submitted in time then there is the risk of a default judgement. The court process has no brakes on it.

[Lamborghini]

You always have the option to pay the whole lot, you are going for a reduced amount. If you put in a defence then you will eventually be offered the option of mediation, if the other side agree, where you can possibly come to an agreement.

However if they do not respond to your letter and there is no defence submitted in time then there is the risk of a default judgement. The court process has no brakes on it.

Hi Ostell,

So I emailed the letter over to the solicitor and he responded today by saying that his client has accepted the offer and that once the payment has been made they will inform the court and close the file.

I have made payment of the agreed amount and the balance now shows £0.00 on their client's website.

Do I need to inform the court of anything or is that what their solicitor will do?

Thank you for your help it is really appreciated.

[ostell]

Yes write to the court and say that the claim has been settled and include copies of the documents you have received and your payment. You need from them a notice of discontinuance and then check with the court that a copy has been sent to them.